Laurentian University announced details on Wednesday of its five-year Minerals and Mining Strategy. There was a large turnout of staff, students and industry partners at the post-secondary institution Oct. 7, where speakers discussed the details of the plan. “We want more and more of our students engaged in the mining industry in every way -- geology, engineering, business, occupational health and safety, health, all of the aspects of the mining life cycle,” said Lynn Wells, LU’s president and vice-chancellor. “But we want to see more and more connection between industry and our university, because we know that it benefits us when we work together in good ways.” The strategy was launched in March as part of the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada conference. “We’ve been Canada’s mining university for over 65 years,” said Nadia Mykytczuk, executive director at the Goodman School of Mines. “At a time when everything is changing and you hear critical minerals in the news every day and geopolitical pressures, it’s a time for us to replant the flag.” The strategy includes four priorities over the next five years. Details can be found here. Tony Makuch, Discovery Mining CEO and president, said the strategy can address various challenges in the sector. “The challenge in going forward is attracting new students and something like what Laurentian is doing and track and inspire new students to come in and people to come into this industry,” Makuch said. Natalia Kusendova-Bashta, Ontario’s Minister of Francophone Affairs and Long-Term Care, highlighted the importance of francophone communities in the mining industry. “The francophone community contributes every year about $80 billion to Ontario’s GDP. And a big part of that comes from the mining industry,” Kusendova-Bashta said. Billions in revenue “Ontario contributes about $13 billion of critical mineral exploitation, but representing about 42 per cent of Canada’s overall critical mineral exploitation. So, it is very significant. And francophones play a huge part in this. And so we want to make sure that they feel supported. And that, of course, includes good post-secondary education.” There were also 20 booths set up in a forum to connect students to potential mining industry employers for co-op or post-graduate jobs. Mykytczuk said the forum will be held annually to let students know what opportunities are available. She said her goal is that the mining strategy chances people’s perception of Laurentian. “I think that the last five years have been really challenging for Sudbury and for Laurentian in particular,” Mykytczuk said. “I think five years from now, I want that to be so far in the distant past that all of the discussion and all of the news stories around look at what Laurentian has done on training this incredible next generation of leaders in mining and building sustainable supply chains in sovereignty and sustainability.” She said Laurentian is looking to secure $10 million for the strategy from 2026 to 2031, adding that the school has already applied for various grants.
